


Teammates

by flowerslut



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-31
Updated: 2016-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-30 06:28:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6412705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowerslut/pseuds/flowerslut
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Because Chat taking a hit for Ladybug isn't always going to go so smoothly. One-shot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Teammates

They were a team.

It’s something that Ladybug always made sure to remind him of. (Even though he knew that on a typical day she really didn’t need him; honestly. Some days when he showed up he simply got beat up a bit while Ladybug thought of a plan; and then she’d save the day single-handedly. Really.) And although he appreciated the reminder truthfully the main thing he found himself doing was either distracting an enemy or getting himself hurt.

Sure, it didn’t make them any less of a team. But the Teamwork Scales did seem to be unevenly tipped most days in terms of who did the most. She probably knew this though, which would explain why she was so determined to remind him every chance she got that they were a team.

“Chat! Duck!”

Biting back an animal joke that almost flowed too easily from his lips, instead Chat Noir listened and immediately ducked his head down low. Dodging things thankfully–-since he did it often-–came easily to him. So when he turned and began to jump, turn, and spin out of the way of the numerous projectiles that were currently flying his way, there was a certain grace to it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Ladybug did the same. When she bounded to his side after their enemy’s attack halted, the sigh of relief that came with his exhale was loud enough for her to hear.

“That was pretty close,” she panted. “This guy’s got some really good aim.”

Chat laughed a breathless laugh. “Really? I think he needs to practice a bit.”

Ladybug didn’t agree, but she glanced at him ever-so-slightly--just enough that he could see a flash of her bright eyes; so bright they almost shined–-his stomach dropped as he understood why. 

She was bleeding. A wound made across her right cheek had hidden itself from him until she’d turned toward him. And for a quick moment all he could do was panic. Because she’d gotten hurt. And it was bleeding heavily.

“My lady-–”

“It’s fine,” she held up a hand as she turned back toward the enemy and shifted into a defensive stance, “face wounds bleed a lot. It’s not a big deal. Just focus.”

Focus. He wanted to laugh but he was too frozen to even get a sarcastic one out. There was no way he could focus when she was hurt. And he’d made a joke about it.

When he turned back toward their enemy, he knew he had to take this more seriously. There was no way he was letting her get hurt again.

It was almost an hour later when they were finally close to de-akumizing the poor civilian. Chat was exhausted, and as he snuck glances toward Ladybug he could tell she was too. Thankfully, she had the guy pinned and was just about to grab his glasses–-the item they were sure the akuma was hiding inside-–when suddenly everything started moving in slow-motion.

Well, not really. But with the adrenaline pounding through his veins he couldn’t help but see every single second with blinding clarity. And when the guy lifted his arm-–(”move!” he’d screamed in that instant as he ran toward her, “ladybug–-move!”)-–he hardly made it in time, knocking his shoulder against hers, knocking her out of the way before the razor-sharp papers sliced through her…

… and instead easily sliced his abdomen, cutting him from his shoulder to his hip.

The only thing he could think as he landed on top of her was that he’d certainly never been in more pain in his life–-he’d also never gotten hurt to this extent while battling anyone, but that was beside the point. And when the metallic taste of blood reached his tongue, he knew he was definitely more injured than he’d been expecting to be.

Things were hazy after that. He could hear Ladybug shout and feel her push him onto his back, and then she was gone. Probably to finish what she’d started. He found himself focusing on the fact that more blood was pooling into his mouth and the taste was making him start to feel nauseous. 

And suddenly–-he was losing sense of time and simply couldn’t remember how long she’d been gone–-she was there again, lifting him so that his head was resting on her lap.

“Chat! Chat open your eyes! Chat, look at me, now!”

He hadn’t realized his eyes had been closed and before he could open them there was a flash. The flash that only happened when he de-transformed. So when he opened his eyes it wasn’t just Ladybug he was looking at, but Plagg, too.

That wasn’t good.

He opened his mouth to speak, but instead he found himself coughing, splattering blood across the both of them. He winced at the sight of her staring at him, eyes wide as saucers, his blood peppered across her pale skin. When he opened his mouth to apologize, instead Plagg was in his ear.

“Hey kid, stop. It’s okay. Don’t say anything. Just be quiet and keep your eyes open, okay?”

Instead, he grunted and nodded. But despite his silent promise, he still closed his eyes several seconds later. It felt better that way. And he was tired.

“Chat! Hey, no! Kitty! Hey, open your eyes!” Ladybug’s voice started yelling at him, and he could hear the rising panic in her voice. “Chat! Adrien!”

He opened his eyes then, just for a moment, to smile up at her, but things were starting to get darker, and he was getting colder, and when there was another flash and Ladybug looked different, he simply couldn’t understand why. So when he closed his eyes again, so ready for the pain to stop, he couldn’t help but ignore her cries for help.

He had a feeling in the back of his head that this was it. That he was probably dying. And he felt bad about that for a second, but then he realized that he would’ve done it all over again. So when things went completely silent and the blackness took him, there wasn’t an ounce of regret in his body.

They were a team. And sometimes teammates did stupid things.

.  
.  
.

The metallic taste was still there. Not as strongly as it had been before, but it was still noticeably present. His first real thought was more like an urge. He needed to brush his teeth. Badly.

It took several minutes before he opened his eyes and when he did he struggled to see; it was simply so dark in the room. But very soon his eyes fell upon the window across the room that was glowing with the remnants of twilight. His gaze only stayed on the dim light for a moment before what was beneath the window caught his attention.

His friends.

Nino and Alya were fast asleep. The former using the latter’s shoulder as a pillow; both of their hair a complete mess. Even Marinette was there, although she was still awake, writing something down. Maybe sketching? He couldn’t quite tell. But with the pressure she was putting on that pen he could only assume she was upset.

When Nino's light snoring began to echo softly through the room, Adrien tried letting out a laugh but when it hurt him, he winced. The movement must have caught Marinette's eyes though, because she jumped up immediately, rushing to his side faster than he could keep track of.

“Adrien,” she breathed, her voice hardly above a whisper, “you’re awake.”

He smiled kindly at her, a part of him pleasantly surprised at her worry. For a long time he had been under the impression that she simply tolerated his presence. Her need to always leave or end a conversation every time he appeared didn’t exactly help with the way he assumed she thought of him. But this, her breathless concern, made something flutter in his chest.

“Hey,” he croaked breathlessly. He then grimaced. “Wow. I sound really bad.”

When she grabbed his hand, entwining their fingers, he felt his stomach tighten, watching with wide eyes as she rested her forehead against their joined hands. He swallowed dryly before speaking again. “Marinette? You okay?”

When he heard her sniffle a couple times before speaking, his chest tightened. “I–I thought I’d lost you. I thought you were gone.”

He knitted his eyebrows together as he watched her speak, and then guilt struck him. “Were you the one that found me?”

Marinette lifted her head and glanced at him with confusion. “What–-no. I mean yes, but-–” she closed her mouth and bit her lip. Suddenly her grip on his hand lessened considerably. “Do… do you not remember?”

Chewing the inside of his cheek he struggled to think back. He remembered that he and Ladybug were fighting, then he knocked her out of the way, getting hurt instead. He definitely remembered the pain. But that was about it. One second he was lying on the ground, feeling nauseous at the taste of thick blood flooding his mouth, and then suddenly, nothing.

So he shook his head, “No.” Then suddenly, he began to play stupid. “Do you know how I got hurt?”

It took almost a minute for Marinette to reply. He watched as she held back the tears in her eyes, working on breathing steadily, before eventually her grip on his hands ceased to exist. She gently placed his hand back at his side as she closed her eyes and shot him a tight-lipped grin. “No. Not a clue. I found you on the roof of the school. Must’ve gotten injured while Ladybug and Chat Noir were fighting.”

And suddenly Adrien's expression fell. He didn’t know why or how, but he could simply tell that she was lying to him. Shy, stuttering Marinette wasn’t shy or stuttering around him for some reason anymore, but she also was hiding something from him.

He watched carefully as she excused herself and moved to wake up Nino and Alya, but even when his other two friends bombarded him with soft hugs and quickly-fired questions, his mind was far, far away.

He knew that as soon as he got out of the hospital, he needed to talk to Ladybug. There was something he was missing and he knew she’d tell him.

That’s what teammates did, right?

**Author's Note:**

> If you've followed my tumblr for a few months this will look familiar. Originally written for NH month 2016 as an AU, but I finally tweaked it for proper posting for my strictly ML lovers out there. So technically this is my first ML work that I ever wrote.  
> A part two isn't likely, but may be considered.


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